LAS VEGAS — This article originally appeared on steelersnow.com.
Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett has won the Defensive Player of the Year Award, just edging out Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Garrett earned 23 first-place votes while Watt earned 19 first-place votes, and Garrett beat Watt by just 25 points in the final voting. Following Garrett and Watt was Dallas’ Micah Parsons and Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby.
Watt, who won the award in 2021, was the most statistically dominant defensive player in the NFL this season. Watt had 19 sacks this season and set a modern NFL record as the first player to lead the league in sacks for a third time since it became an official statistic back in the early 1980s. Deacon Jones of the Los Angeles Rams unofficially led the league in sacks five times the 1960s. Watt also led the NFL in sacks in 2020 and 2021, when he tied the all-time single-season sack records, drawing even with Michael Strahan’s mark of 22.5.
But Garrett won in metrics like Pass Rush Win Rate and Pressure Rate while being double-teamed at a higher rate. That led to Garrett securing his first Defensive Player of the Year Award over Watt.
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